Week 16: Sister Cupcake

Hey y'all! Hope your week has been as great as mine!

My new address is 109 W. Rankin St. Brewton, AL 36425! It was hard to leave Semmes behind, but I already love Brewton and know this is where God wants me to be. Sister Palmer, my new companion, is awesome! She is almost a foot shorter than me and is 21. She lived on a farm in Utah and has been out for 6 months. 

Last Monday and Tuesday, I was able to say goodbye to a few of the amazing families I've grown to love. Monday evening, we made Sushi with the Brownings and had this coconut/mango drink with tapioca balls at the bottom that you slurp up through a straw. It was really cool! Tuesdaynight, I got my bag and scriptures monogrammed! Southern monograms are a huge thing here in the south. It's your first initial, last initial, and then middle initial. A 16 year old laurel in Semmes has a machine to cut them out, and she did them for us. They turned out so beautiful! I absolutely love my sparkly monogram on my bag! 

Wednesday morning, I finished packing up everything I own (this is the 4th time this year that I've had to do this) and we traveled to transfer spots. I said goodbye to Sister Wall and met my new companion, Sister Palmer. She told me about how part of our area is Jay, FL. Our church building is in Jay, so every Sunday, we get to cross the state line to go to church! We are actually a tiny branch, not a ward. Fun fact about our church building: it was another church's building, and then our church bought it and changed it into a LDS building. It is very small and doesn't have a steeple. We have about 30 active members that come to church. It is so small, but everyone is very close together! That evening we visited a recent convert named Curtis. He got baptized the day before I got here so Sister Saunders could be there. She finished her mission and went home, so everyone knew she was leaving. When we walked into their trailer, the first thing he said was, "Good thing you're tall because you have big shoes to fill!" But I'm already growing on everyone even though they still love and miss Sister Saunders. Curtis just married his girlfriend Rachel a few weeks ago so he could be baptized, and they are still cute newly-weds, calling each other "dearest" and "darling."

Thursday evening, after weekly planning, we went to visit the Wrights. They also recently got baptized this month. They are a retired couple who watch their grandson CJ, who is 9. He also wants to be baptized like them, so now we get to start teaching him! He is super hyperactive, so we are finding creative ways to teach him. The Wrights have such strong testimonies of the church and talk with everyone about it. We are hopefully going to start teaching their children. I felt an instant connection and love for them. Brother Wright is very funny. He likes to try to stump us with jokes and sayings. He folded a paper and ripped it up and told us to choose a pile. The pile I chose was the one that unfolded to spell out "hell" and Sister Palmer chose the one that turned into a cross. So, I definitely made the wrong decision... We then went that evening to have dinner with the Foxes. They are returning members with an 8 year old daughter that just got baptized. Chloe apparently comes up with nicknames for all the missionaries. Sister Saunders was Sister Sun. Sister Palmer is Sister Palm Tree. Guess what my new name is? Yup, Sister Cupcake. She must think I'm sweet or something, but otherwise I have no idea where it came from. So all night long, everyone called me Sister Cupcake! After dinner we picked a lot of weeds from the garden. The grandma is planting lots of okra. I also found at least 20 bites all over my legs this week, even before picking the weeds, so that's fun. 

All day Friday we were on bikes! We are very low on miles, and will have to bike a few more times before the next month comes! Sister Palmer loves biking and running. She raced bikes all the time before the mission, so she left me in the dust when we got to this big hill and I had a hard time biking up it. Since she loves running, in the mornings for exercise, we walk down to a baptist cemetery, and she runs laps around it. It is so funny because there are a group of kids who wait for the bus to pick them up across the street at the same time we get there, so they get to witness how weird missionaries are... Anyways, so Friday mornings at 11am we go to a senior center and do a devotional with about six to eight elderly people. They are so old and so sweet. We mostly share bible videos and talk about God's love for  them. We are still trying to figure out a way to work the Book of Mormon in there. ;) 

On our bikes, we went to contact some member referrals. After a while, we were almost to the first house, and Sister Palmer said she felt like we needed to go back and knock this apartment complex. Then we rode back two or three blocks, and I was thinking, "dang we should have turned back sooner or we should just go on our way back from the house." But everything is in the Lord's timing because as we were locking up our bikes next to the complex, I saw a teenage girl holding a book and walking towards the library. I said, "That girls holding a book, so she likes to read. We should give her a Book of Mormon!" I was slightly joking but also about to go after her, even though she was across the street 20 feet away. Sister Palmer said, "Let's do it!" So we started walking quickly towards her. We were far behind and she was crossing the street to the front of the library. Sister Palmer started running and we darted around the back of the library and caught her just in front of the doors to the library. Yup, we are totally stalkers. It was awkward at first, but we got to know her and she took the Book of Mormon and was very interested. We made a cool connection and got her number and address, so hopefully this will go somewhere! We were able to talk to another lady who was walking down the street home from work and give her a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment. We knocked most of the apartment, and only one lady answered who wasn't super interested, but we gave her a Book of Mormon anyway. So it was definitely a miracle of timing! If we had been there any sooner or later, we would have missed them. Later that afternoon, we biked a long way to the house of a lady who had just moved into the ward. When we finally got there, no one answered the door. I was so disappointed and very exhausted. We went around to try the other door on the house, and right then, a car pulled up, and a very welcoming lady got out and invited us inside! The timing was just perfect--definitely another timing miracle. 

On Saturday morning, we went to check out this Choo Choo Market that a member had told us about. It turned out to only have six booths and not a lot of people. We talked with one lady, but she wasn't super interested. We walked around back to see if there were more booths across from the park, but there wasn't. We walked home a different way so we wouldn't pass by all the vendors again, and as we were walking, we saw this lady sitting on her porch petting a chicken. I was like, "Chickens!!!" and we both just walked up to her! She told us all about her pet chickens (one named Pineapple) and baby cats. Then we were able to share the Restoration with her, and she said she was like Joseph Smith, searching for the one true religion. When we told her about how the Book of Mormon was convincing evidence of this, she asked where she could buy a copy right as Sister Palmer pulled one out from her bag. Her eyes got huge and she was so grateful we were giving a copy to her! She said she would read it and that we can come back to teach her more. The people here are so prepared. We've already given out so many Books of Mormon and have new investigators and potentials. Even though it was exhausting to bike and walk all day, the Lord blessed our efforts. Saturday night, the branch mission leader took us out for dinner and then we had missionary correlation meeting (my very first one). Brother Kelley is a hoot! He and his wife are full of lots of jokes, but he also knows how to get down to business--he served in the navy. 

Church on Sunday was very different. The building is nothing like a regular LDS building, but the people are so loving and welcoming. I got to be the chorister for all the hymns, and Sister Palmer got to work the magic piano. We taught a lesson in gospel principles about the priesthood and had a really good turnout. Curtis and Rachel brought their friend Kim to church, and we got to teach her a lesson after church. The Spirit was so strong, and Sister Palmer said it is because Kim is so prepared and ready. I felt God's love for her as I testified that He loved her. She definitely felt the Spirit, and Curtis interrupted the lesson to say, "Sister Burnham, you are making this very hard for me. I'm trying to keep my promise!" I was very confused. Then he said, "I promised I wouldn't love any sister missionaries as much as Sister Saunders and Sister Palmer!" Since those were the two that taught and baptized him. It was very touching.

Overall, I am finding many ways to use my talents here. There is a deaf member of our ward and a neighbor down our street who is deaf. I feel God has definitely placed me here to use my talents to build up His kingdom! It was cool to sign with the brother in the ward because no one else knows ASL, not even the aunt he lives with. He is so friendly and loves going around showing people pictures on his phone or typing things out to them. I already love this area and the people here so much, and that it is where God needs me to be. 

Like the First Presidency Message in Preach My Gospel says, "More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among His children." I know this is true. We do have a lot of hard and difficult days, but we also have the most amazing days ever! There is opposition in all things, so if you never experience very difficult days, you won't get to experience the most joy and happiness possible. I challenge you all to keep an eternal perspective of hope during the darkest and hardest trials you go through. I have a very strong testimony that no matter what hardships we go through, it will be worth it to stay strong and faithful in the church so that we can live in the celestial kingdom with our loved ones for eternity. This is all made possible because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I am so blessed to get to share this message everyday as a missionary!

Much love, 

Sister Burnham

My new companion, Sister Palmer

My new area

A very mossy church we walked past!

 Brother Wright, when he found out about all of my food allergies, said, "Come with me. I need to show you something." He lead me to his gun case and said to pick one because life wasn't worth living without gluten, dairy, and eggs. He definitely loves to joke with us! But no worries, he totally loves me :)